The invention relates to systems used to construct coverings. The systems include flat pan and insulated panels that interlock with one another along abutting edges. These two systems tend to be heavily used the covering industry. These designs have proven to be very reliable and long lasting.
The benefits of the insulated panels are that they insulate the area that they are covering and are fairly strong. The insulated panel coverings come with interlocking panels 2. The panels 2 typically comprise of two metal layers with an insulated material located in the middle. The panels come in standard sizes (e.g. 2 feet in width and 4 inches in height) with interlocking components. This system has a long working life and comes with the industry standard of a 20 year warranty.
As can be seen in FIGS. 17 and 18, in order to collect rainwater, a gutter 160 is present along the lower end of the sloped covering. Water will run off the top of the joined insulated panels 2 and collect in the gutter 160. The water is then guided away. This system works as long as the integrity of the joints 9 is maintained.
The gutter 160 is level or just below level with the top surface of the insulated panels 2. The gutter 160 is a truncated U-shaped with the shorter solid part being the gutter face 161. The gutter face 161 abuts the face of the insulated panels 2. The taller end is the gutter front 162 and is used so that water does not escape over the edge of the gutter 160 as it runs swiftly down the very smooth covering. Typically, since these gutters 160 are so unsightly, a wrapping kit 170 is employed. The gutter face 161 serves as an end cap and seal the joints 9, ducts 95 and channels 91. During construction, a seal is applied so that the panel 2 and the wrapping kit are sealed to the gutter 160. Once water is located in the ducts 95 and/or channels 91, the gutter face 161 prevents the water from escaping.
The wrapping kit 170 also adds another layer of materials onto the exterior of the covering. The wrapping kit 170 adds weight and cost to the covering. Additionally, it adds more points that must be properly sealed. The wrapping kit 170 increases the areas in which the integrity of the covering may fail.
Joints 9 are the weakest part of the system. Many times only an external seal 96 is applied to the joint. Other times, internal seals 92 are also applied. Both the external seals 96 and the internal seals 92 will typically deteriorate before the panels 2 will. The interlocking joints 9 have several designs, but work on the same basic principle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,861 to Meyerson and U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,939 to Zadok et al. discloses designs that has an interlocking system with sealant pockets within the joint 9. As can be seen in FIG. 9, the seals will create channels 91. The internal seals 92 will be applied during, or before, the construction process as well as the external seal 96. This will help elongate the life of the covering by limiting exposure to the sun to the internal seals 92. Thus when the external seal 96 fails; there are several internal seals 92 that will extend the life of the covering. As mentioned before, these internal seals 92 create channels 91 that run along the length of the joint 9 and terminate at the gutter face 161. As such, the water within the joint has no means to escape, except through the entrance in which it came. In other insulated panels, only one seal is present and is applied along the uppermost junction of the joint 9, the external seal 96. In these panels, water tends to accumulate in the duct 95. Water can also collect in the ducts 95 when internal seals 92 are present.
However, the elements are not kind to these internal seals 92. Eventually the rain and exposure will deteriorate all the internal seals 92. This is partly because water will enter from the top and accumulate in these channels 91, once the external seal 96 is breached. Due to weather, the properties of water and biological growth, these internal seals 92 will deteriorate. Water will accumulate in the duct 95 when the inner seals are or are not present. Once water fills the duct 95 it will overflow and water will flow past the duct 95. As illustrated by FIGS. 9, 10, 17 and 18, water will also tend to fill the channels 91 as there is no means for the water in the channels 91 to escape, due to the gutter face 161 of the gutter 160. Once the bottom most internal seal 92 fails, if present, the covering now has a leak. If there is no seal between the duct and the bottom of the panel 2, water will just flow out of the joint 9 once the duct 95 overflows. The standing water will decrease the effective lifespan of the entire covering. This is a major issue in the industry for as long as these insulated panels 2 have been employed. To date, there is no solution to this problem this overflow problem.
Another issue with the use of wrapping kits 170 is that they are not able to provide support for the covering. Typically coverings do not to extend too much past the boundaries of the area wished to be covered. Since the wrapping kits 170 extend the borders of the covering, the support columns must be brought further into the area to be covered so as to be properly supported. This will decrease the useful space of the area being covered.